Meet The Daring American Girl Who Hitchhiked Across China

When Rachel Katz applied for a Fulbright Scholarship to study the trucking industry in China, she didn’t mention her plan to hitchhike around the country. If she had, neither the Chinese nor the American government would have been likely to approve the plan.

She just went for it.

“I got in a truck one day to go a short distance, and then I schemed and decided to go all out,” Katz told Business Insider. “In terms of ethnographic research this was a dream come true.”

During the first six months of 2011, the 23-year-old hitchhiked over 8,000 miles across China on long haul trucks. Believe it or not, she says she never felt like she was in personal danger.

Katz shared some pictures from her trip, which she plans to turn into a book. She is working now as a consultant at McKinsey.

23-year-old Rachel Katz was on a Fulbright scholarship to study trucking in China. She decided to do some on-the-ground research.